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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cap — a lid
  4. pop — to visit
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pop — music
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. court — of a king
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cold — not warm
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. vault — a safe
  15. cap — of ice
  16. court — of law
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pop — soda
  22. cap — a hat
  23. court — for sport
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com